Like Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals or Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, the great English composer Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is a delightful introduction to classical music, an ideal first foray into a vast and intriguing sonic world. The enchanting work, subtitled Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, is inspired by a simple Irish dance from a 1695 suite written to accompany the play Abdelazer. Britten shines a light on every facet of the theme and melody, giving each instrument in the orchestra a chance to shine!
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